The right is alive, if not kicking (yet)

As planned, onetime Abe wingman Nakagawa Shoichi has formed a conservative study group within the LDP that will keep the flame of the Abe revolution burning.

At the opening meeting, Mr. Nakagawa said, “The things which everyone said ‘we must do’ until a few months ago must not be forgotten.” By which he means those things that were completely at odds with the desires of the Japanese people, leading them to categorically reject “leaving behind the postwar regime” at the first opportunity.

Sakurai Yoshiko, leading lady of the right, spoke to the gathering on the subject of “What is genuinely conservative?” — and the attendees can be found in this Mainichi article.

It’s by no means surprising that Mr. Abe’s followers would regroup after their champion left office prematurely, and his natural successor defeated in the LDP presidential contest. The question that remains is whether Mr. Nakagawa’s group will sit quiet until the next LDP presidential election or whether it will be a thorn in the side of Mr. Fukuda.

Does anyone really expect the former?

I suspect that it’s just a matter of time before Mr. Nakagawa’s (Mr. Aso’s) army finds some issue on which Mr. Fukuda has let them down.